By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
Brandon Twp.- During a special meeting on Oct. 25, the board of education voted 7-0 to approve the yearly contracts for the Brandon Education Association and the Brandon Administrators Association. The contracts both include a 2 percent pay increase.
“We are pleased to be able to offer another positive contract for our teachers,” said Dr. Matt Outlaw, district superintendent. “They are the backbone of our district and we are blessed with an outstanding teaching staff.”
Last year, both contracts also had a 2 percent increase, making this two years that there has been that increase.

“This contract was a positive step for the entire district,” said BEA President John Martin. “We were able to come to an agreement with the district for a step increase and a 2 percent raise across the board for teachers. Our work with the district remains as important as ever as we remain focused on the present and future of the district. We need to continue our work together to ensure that Brandon continues to move forward in a positive direction for teachers, students, and families. In order to do so, we need to continue to provide salaries and working conditions that allow us to retain the excellent teachers we already have and to attract new talented staff. We are all committed to providing a quality education for every student in the district, and a key component of our success continues to be the fact that we have dedicated, quality teachers in the classrooms every day teaching the bright and motivated students of Brandon Schools.”
Outlaw echoes the need to retain dedicated and skilled teachers.
“It is also important to note that we must invest in our teachers if we are going to be able to recruit and retain the best teachers,” said Outlaw. “Across the state, we are on the front end of a tidal wave when it comes to a shortfall in high quality teacher candidates. Teacher education programs across the state have less than half of the prospective teachers as they did a decade ago. Our board of education members understand this fact and have made the tough financial decisions needed to ensure that Brandon can be competitive in this market. Our board has delivered three consecutive positive contracts for our teachers and, as a result, we are doing a much better job of retaining our talent and recruiting the new talent that we need.”
The new contracts impact 148 teachers and six administrators in the building administrator group.